She hears the sounds of life

“I tried to make of my situation something positive.” Manal Al Ashwal

At the age of eight, Manal contracted mumps and lost her hearing. When her parents thought about arranging her home-schooling, Manal refused. The school was more to her than just a place of learning – it was also a place to play and meet her friends. So she decided to continue with school despite the difficulty of her situation, and the non-acceptance of others of her deaf status.

There, Manal got to know the chessboard that became her hobby. She became a chess champion who later took part in school and local tournaments. After completing her education, she was unable to travel outside Yemen because of her condition. She joined the university in Ta’iz where she was routinely excluded and marginalised. Although she faced difficulties she completed her studies and attained her Master’s degree with distinction.

After graduation, Manal decided to identify the deaf community in Yemen. She noted that deaf children were trained to work in carpentry workshops, for example, and girls to work in sewing workshops. So she decided to help her students discover and achieve their dreams, out of the framework that their communities restrict them to. She tried to change people’s perceptions of the deaf, and realised that teachers can change the lives of others.

During her Master’s degree Manal was accompanied by her students to the university and introduced them to its various departments to motivate them start thinking about specialisations suited to their ambition. She trained them to develop their hobbies and talents, such as chess. She also made the disabled aware of their legal and civil rights, not recognised by others who treat them in a manner different from people without disabilities.

Manal became head of the Department of Deaf in the Education Office. She also developed, with her colleagues and the support of an international organisation, a technical dictionary for the deaf and dumb. She  founded the first women’s sports club in Ta’iz, and provided activities in rural Ta’iz to help deaf girls who are there in large numbers to narrate their own stories to help them in their lives.